Go Back To The Start
by dreamsongs8
Summary: Rose is a shop girl who used to be a big fan of Gallifrey One, a television show that she watched growing up. Ten is the actor who played the boy-wonder medical officer known only as The Doctor. A twist of fate brings them into each other's lives, but Rose soon finds that reality is so much more complicated than fiction.
1. Chapter 1

Rose Tyler was sick of it all. Sick of working at the shop, folding the same clothes over and over again. Sick of the same thing, day after day. She had thought her life would be so different. She'd imagined big things, grand adventures, even a life of fame – considering she'd always wanted to sing. Growing up, every time she pictured herself as an adult, she saw herself being important, having a fantastic life. But she'd never counted on the possibility of life just continuing to be the same as it always was. She always thought there would be one moment, one brilliant moment, that would change the course of her entire life. A moment that would make the life of poverty she'd grown up with, and all the struggles she'd had because of it, finally change. A moment where she would start being happy and actually live, instead of just surviving.

But real life doesn't have those grand life changing moments, not really. The big obvious things that changed your life tended to be bad, like the death of your father. The things that changed your life for the better tended to be small, slow acting things that you don't even see until they're in your rear view mirror. And so, as these things happen, Rose's life began to change forever on a mundane Thursday afternoon.

She was on her lunch break, and had gone shopping at one of the nearby novelty stores that sold, among other things, merchandise for different television shows and movies that were popular now, or had been popular years ago and were making a comeback. She'd seen that they had a new section devoted to her favorite show from when she was a kid, Gallifrey One. It was a campy science fiction show about a space station that had fallen through a wormhole and reappeared in a new galaxy, the survivors of which explored this new galaxy in the hopes of finding a new planet to settle on, since they couldn't get back to Earth. She used to watch it with her dad, before he had died. After his death, her mum had not allowed her to watch it anymore – thinking it would be too painful for Rose, when really it was too painful for her. But it was always something that made her smile, and she needed a smile. She found a t-shirt with one of her favorite characters, the boy-wonder medical officer known only as The Doctor, with his signature catch phrase "No, don't do that!", which made her laugh. He would go on the expeditions to new planets and constantly warn his colleagues of the dangers of touching random alien plants, or eating potentially toxic foods, always the voice of logic in a show full of the illogical. Rose had loved that he'd been so young, yet was listened to and respected because of his intelligence. She felt like so often the world discounted your opinions if you were young, as though you weren't capable of thinking like an adult. So she knew she needed to get the shirt, and show her friend Clara back at work.

"Look at this one, though! Remember when Mum wouldn't let me watch it and I used to sneak out to your flat, middle of the night?" Rose asked, laughing.

"Yeah, and you fell and twisted your ankle climbing out the window. Had a hell of a time explaining that one to your mum," Clara said, rolling her eyes.

"Worth it!" Rose replied in a singsong voice. "Martha, look at this – d'you remember this show?" she added to their other co-worker as she entered the room.

The woman glanced over, then did a double take as she saw the shirt. "Oh my god, I know that guy!" she laughed. "Where did you get this?"

"At the shop across the way. Wait, you know him as in you know the show? Or you actually know John Noble?" Rose asked, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

"Yeah, my friend Harry worked with him on a movie and they got on, he's one of my mates. Oh, but you've got to let me take a picture of that shirt to send him! He'll love it!"

"Yeah, okay. Sure," Rose replied, looking slightly dazed. She held out the tshirt as Martha began pulling out her phone to take a picture.

"No, put it on! I want a picture of you wearing it. That's much better," Martha said, smiling encouragingly.

"I dunno, seems a bit odd, yeah? I don't want him to think I'm some creepy uber fan or something…"

"There's nothing wrong with being a fan, Rose. He loves his fans. But he loves pretty girls even more, especially when the two are combined. This'll make his day! Please?" she implored, turning her large brown eyes on Rose in the best pleading puppy-dog look Rose had ever seen.

Rose sighed, having no power to turn down those eyes. "All right, gimme a mo', I'll go change." She took her bag into the bathroom and adjusted her hair and makeup after she'd changed into the shirt. If this picture was really going to John Noble, she wanted to look her best. She finished touching up her eyeliner and came back out to the break room, noticing it was getting very close to the end of her lunch break. "Okay, let's do this quick because I've got to get back soon."

"Okay, come here, stand under the light so I can get a good shot of the shirt."

"You're not going to send him just a picture of my chest, are you? Because I'm not okay with that," Rose said, concern and amusement in her voice.

"Don't be daft. Just want to get in close enough he can see it. Smile," Martha said, aiming the phone at Rose. Rose, unsure of what to do with her arms, stuck them out to the side with jazz hands and gave a big, nervous smile. "That's great! Thanks, Rose! He'll love it."

"Yeah, no problem. Suppose I should be thanking you, in a sense. Weird. I grew up watching him, yeah? And you just happen to be his mate."

"Life is funny like that sometimes," Martha said, grinning. "Now get back to work before you get in trouble. I'll see you later."

Rose spent the bus ride home that night thinking about what had happened at lunch. It was definitely the most exciting thing to happen in her life in a long time. Not that anything really had happened, but it was still a bit of a thrill to know that her picture had been sent to someone she really looked up to. She felt a bit vain, thinking that, though. What if he thought she was weird? What if he thought she was unattractive? She shook herself out of these bad thoughts as quickly as she could. She'd been trying to boost her self esteem recently, after a particularly bad break up had left her feeling worthless and used. And it was a nice feeling, thinking she'd make him smile just by wearing the shirt she'd found. It was odd, she hadn't thought about that show in years until she'd passed the display at the shop and decided to go and buy the shirt for a laugh. What odd timing, that Martha had just happened to be in the room when she was showing it off. It wasn't something she'd ever have worn to work, so she'd never have seen it otherwise. With this happy circumstance on her mind, she got off the bus and didn't give it another thought as she entered her flat and started helping her mum with a client that was having a particularly bad hair day.

Two days later, she finally had another shift with Martha, who was only part time while she went to university. The two young women got along well, but had never been very close because their schedules didn't line up often. Despite being roughly the same age, Martha was very dedicated to school, wanting to become a doctor. Whereas Rose didn't really know what she wanted to do. When Martha flagged Rose down and asked her if she wanted to have lunch together, Rose quickly agreed and they took off to the cafe down the street.

"So I wanted to tell you that I sent that picture to John and he loved it! He said to tell you you're very pretty and that you 'make his face look horrendous in comparison so please stop wearing his face because he needs people to think he's attractive in order to get work', his words, not mine," Martha concluded, laughing.

Rose blushed, dropping her face into her hands. "Oh no! Oh my god, I feel so weird…"

Martha laughed harder, "Don't! It was a joke! Anyway, he wants to meet you. Any friend of mine is apparently a friend of his, in his mind. Poor bloke doesn't have many friends though, is what I'm thinking, anyway, are you interested? Tonight, if you're free."

"Doesn't he live in Scotland? Or France? I can't remember anymore."

"Scotland. He left France a while ago. Anyway, it's the 21st century, Rose. Distance isn't an issue anymore if you've got a computer. Or a phone. I'll send you an invite to our chatroom, just give me your email address. You do have a laptop, right?"

"Not as such, no." Rose admitted, quietly. "Not exactly making the Queen's wages, working the shop, am I?"

"Too true. Well, you can use your phone to get into the room. It's just that you'll have to type everything. But that's okay. We do that too, sometimes, when we can't use the video function. Are you interested?"

"Yeah, might be. What time?"

"Whenever you're free. We'll be on all night. We usually just keep it going because it's nice to have the company, even when we're doing other things. So just drop in whenever you want. Someone will be on there."

"All right, then. I will. Ta." Rose said, grinning shyly.

"Oh, and watch out for Jack if he's on, yeah? He's a flirt and a half and he'll be trying to seduce you all the way from Los Angeles – and he'd succeed too." Martha added, grinning fondly.

"Wait, Jack…Jack HARKNESS? You know Jack Harkness too?"

"Course I do. He and John are best mates, aren't they?"

"I didn't know that. I mean it seemed like it when the show was on, but it's been years. And Jack's doing that show in America now."

"Yeah, but they stayed friends. Anyway, Jack's great. You'll like him. Just, like I said, keep your wits about you. It probably won't be too bad since he won't be able to see you, but even still – he's got a sixth sense about these sorts of things and can always tell when he's talking to a pretty girl," Martha said, rolling her eyes affectionately.

"Yeah, of course. Umm, anyway, I think we need to get back, yeah? Aren't you off to school in a bit?"

"Got another two hours, but yeah. I really hate my literature class. Never was great at interpreting metaphors and things out of books. Seems like things should just mean what they say, but I guess that's why I'm not an literature major, yeah?"

"If you ever want help, let me know. That was the only class I really did well at, oddly enough."

"You know, I'll take you up on that if you're sure. I hate talking with my classmates about it, because they're all so arrogantly intelligent, and if you admit weakness they're like sharks going for the kill."

"Oh no! But you're the smartest person I know, what's that about?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm brilliant. That's how I got in there. But my brilliance is more in science than literature. But in order to be 'well rounded students' we have to take all these different classes that have nothing to do with our major."

"Almost glad I skipped it, when you put it that way." Rose joked.

"You should think about going back, though Seriously. You could take night classes. If it's something you want, I mean."

"Might do, yeah. Anything would be nice at this point to get me out of this rut I've been in."

They had reached the shop again. "All right, well I'd best get back to the dreaded customer service desk. Talk to you tonight, though, right?" asked Martha, placing her purse back into her locker.

"Yeah, see you then," Rose replied, very much looking forward to it.

Rose was late getting home that night, she'd stopped by the electronics store on her way out to see how much she could get a laptop for. It was a bit out of her range but she knew she could get one if she saved for a couple of months. Once she'd helped clean up dinner, she excused herself for the night, heading into her room to use the invitation Martha had sent to her. It prompted her to download an app on her phone, which took another few minutes, and she was tapping her foot anxiously by the time she finally got it working.

**RoseTyler has entered the room.**

**RoseTyler**: Martha?  
**CaptainJack:** Well hello there. And who are you?  
**RoseTyler:** Hi, sorry, I'm Rose. I'm Martha's friend.  
**CaptainJack:** Rose, just like it says on the tin, huh? Not very creative when it comes to usernames?  
**RoseTyler:** Guess not – never really use them. Why, are you not supposed to use your name for these things?  
**CaptainJack:** Well, you can, if you want. But where's the fun in that? Martha's away right now, she's on the phone with her mom. She's been gone for like an hour now, but she'll be back eventually. In the meantime, I can keep you company, if you'd like. ;)  
**RoseTyler:** Oh, okay then. Well, hi. And who are you?

Rose smirked, knowing exactly who he was but not sure what he knew of her. She decided to play it safe and feign ignorance until Martha got back.

**CaptainJack:** I'm also Martha's friend. Small world, huh? So how come you're not coming up on the video thing? It just shows a little gray box. That's no fun. :(  
**RoseTyler:** I'm on my phone, so I can only use the chat box. That a problem?  
**CaptainJack:** Only for my eyes. How do you know Martha?  
**RoseTyler:** We work together.  
**CaptainJack:** Oh, at the little shop of horrors?  
**RoseTyler:** Is that what she calls it? That's brilliant. Yeah, there.  
**CaptainJack:** Another one from London. You guys are ganging up on me over here. I'm the only one across the pond.  
**RoseTyler:** Oh, you're American?  
**CaptainJack:** Blasphemy! No, I just work here. But I've perfected the accent, if you ever want to get on a computer and see for yourself. ;)  
**RoseTyler:** Flirt! I'd love to, but I don't have a computer.  
**CaptainJack:** Speaking of blasphemy! Who doesn't have a computer in this day and age?  
**RoseTyler:** Poor people.  
**CaptainJack:** Oh, sorry. I didn't mean…  
**RoseTyler:** No, don't be. I knew what you meant. I shouldn't have said that. It's hard, yeah? This whole typing everything – you lose all context and tone.  
**CaptainJack:** So true. Well, maybe one of these days you and Martha can meet up outside of work so you can chat on the video thing.  
**RoseTyler:** Yeah, that'd be nice. We'll see.  
**CaptainJack:** Yeah, if she ever gets back from the phone call that never ends  
**RoseTyler:** It just goes on and on my friends  
**CaptainJack:** HA! Too true. This always happens when her mom calls. That woman could talk for years.  
**RoseTyler:** Best not introduce her to my mum, yeah? They'd never stop.  
**DoctorJones:** Or maybe that would be a good thing! Hi Rose! Sorry for this, mum's had a row with my sister and I get to play peacemaker. Again! Anyway, I hope it won't be too long but for now I'm going "away". Talk to you soon, I hope! (If she ever winds down….which is unlikely)  
**RoseTyler:** No worries, I completely understand. See you eventually!  
**DoctorJones:** In the next lifetime, more like…

**DoctorJones has changed their status to "away from the computer".**

**RoseTyler:** Oh, that's neat, how do you do that?  
**CaptainJack:** You're on the phone app? Pull up your options and there's one to "change your status." They show up in the list of people in the chatroom, probably under "who's here?" on the app.  
**RoseTyler:** Oh, I see!  
**CaptainJack:** Yeah, you can even make up your own, watch…

**CaptainJack has changed their status to "wishes Rose Tyler had a laptop".**

**RoseTyler has changed their status to "wishes Rose Tyler had a laptop, too".**

**RoseTyler:** How do I get it back?  
**CaptainJack:** Just switch it back to active.

**CaptainJack is now active.**

**CaptainJack:** You bet I am. ;)

**RoseTyler is now active.**

**RoseTyler:** There we go. That's cute, but probably gets old fast, yeah?  
**CaptainJack:** Yeah, But since it's just us right now, it's fine.

**JNlad79 has entered the room.**

**CaptainJack:** I spoke too soon.  
**JNlad79:** Talking about me again?  
**CaptainJack:** Don't worry, nothing good.  
**JNlad79:** I should hope not. I've a reputation to uphold.  
**CaptainJack:** Don't I know it :(  
**JNlad79:** Stop that.  
**CaptainJack:** You set yourself up for that one. We've got company, by the way. Say hi to Rose.  
**JNlad79:** Hi Rose  
**RoseTyler:** Hello  
**JNlad79:** You're Martha's friend, right? The pretty lass in the picture she sent me?  
**RoseTyler:** That's me.  
**JNlad79:** Ahh, then Jack, the jig is up. She knows who we are.

**CaptainJack has left the room.**

**JNlad79:** Shite.  
**RoseTyler:** Something I said?  
**JNlad79:** No, don't worry about it. I'll be right back, I'm going to go call him.  
**RoseTyler:** Maybe I should just go. I think this might have been a bad idea.  
**JNlad79:** No, don't. Just, give me a minute.

**JNlad79 has changed their status to "away".**

Rose sat there in confusion, wiping a tear that she hadn't realized was there from her eye. She felt humiliated. She really shouldn't have pretended not to know who Jack was, but she wasn't sure if he knew who she was and hadn't wanted to upset him. But she had anyway, and she felt awful. Martha was just trying to be nice, and she had to go and mess it up. She set down her phone and went to go brush her teeth and get ready for bed. She returned a few minutes later to see that there had been no change in the conversation. "Well, great," she muttered, turning to put on pajamas. As she finished, she heard her phone buzz and turned to check it.

**JNlad79 is now active.**

**JNlad79:** Rose? Are you still there?  
**RoseTyler:** I'm here.  
**JNlad79:** Sorry about that. Jack's a little protective of his privacy. He's had a few issues with stalkers, as have I, so we tend to be a bit leery of telling people who we are, when we're online. But you're Martha's friend and that's good enough in my book. And he'll come around.  
**RoseTyler:** Can you tell him I'm sorry? I didn't mean to pretend like I didn't know who he was, but I wasn't sure if Martha had told him anything about me and I wasn't sure if I should say anything until she got back.  
**JNlad79:** No, you're fine. And I will, tell him that is. Not that you have anything to apologize for. He's just, well, Jack. Trust me, give him a little time and he'll be right back in here, no doubt trying to flirt his way into your heart (if he hasn't already).  
**JNlad79:** Oh god, he already has, hasn't he?  
**RoseTyler:** No! Sorry about that, was saying goodnight to my mum.  
**JNlad79:** Oh good. You live with your mum, then?  
**RoseTyler:** Yeah.  
**JNlad79:** That's good. You're in London, right? Martha said you were coworkers, so I assume so anyway.  
**RoseTyler:** Yeah, we're in London.  
**JNlad79:** Ahh, London. Haven't been there in ages. What have I missed?  
**RoseTyler:** Rain. And all the good chips.  
**JNlad79:** Didn't miss the rain, actually. We get plenty of that here in Glasgow, too. But I do miss the chips. Mind you, I'm not supposed to have chips. According to the girlfriend. But, you know, what she doesn't know won't hurt me. ;)

Rose felt a little pang of disappointment at finding out he had a girlfriend. But she shook it off quickly. It wasn't like anything was going to happen between them anyway.

**RoseTyler:** Quite right, too. ;)  
**JNlad79:** But if she ever comes on here, you cannae tell her anything. I'll deny it to my grave even if you did. But you, Rose Tyler, are to keep yer mouth shut!  
**RoseTyler:** I won't tell a soul. You know, it's funny, yeah? I've not seen anyone type with an accent before – you're the first!  
**JNlad79:** Well, I have to give up my accent for films more often than not, pretend to be English. So I let it slip out every so often on here.  
**RoseTyler:** I see. Got to be yourself, and all that.  
**JNlad79:** Absolutely, otherwise I won't know who I am. LOL  
**JNlad79:** So where's Martha? I thought she was going to be here.  
**RoseTyler:** She is, sort of. She's on the phone with her mum, could be a while.  
**JNlad79:** Don't I know it. Happens all the time. She complains, but I always shush her. It's nice to have a mum. I miss mine every day.  
**RoseTyler:** Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.  
**JNlad79: **Don't be. I mean, it was a long time ago, so I'm okay. It just bothers me when people don't appreciate what they have, you know?  
**RoseTyler:** That's understandable.  
**JNlad79:** Not that Martha doesn't love her mum, I know that. But I've got a soft spot for other people's mums, I always defend them. Could be because other people's mums tend to adore me.  
**RoseTyler:** Oh yeah? Is there like a mums club, where they take a vote on that?  
**JNlad79:** HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE TOP SECRET MUMS CLUB? That's supposed to be classified. Heads will roll! Wait, you're not secretly a mum, yerself, are you? What's the code word?  
**RoseTyler:** Ha! No idea, mate. Just a good guess? ;)  
**JNlad79:** Too good. I've got my eye on you, Tyler!  
**RoseTyler:** Noted. So what are you up to on this fine, rainy evening?  
**JNlad79:** Just taking a break from reading scripts.  
**RoseTyler:** Anything good?  
**JNlad79:** Not in years. But I just keep hoping. Anyway, I'd best get back to it. And you were heading to bed, right?  
**RoseTyler:** I should, yeah. Early shift tomorrow. :(  
**JNlad79:** Then I'll sleep in extra, just for you. ;)  
**RoseTyler:** Isn't that considerate?  
**JNlad79:** I am, aren't I? Anyway, it was a pleasure talking to you, Rose Tyler. I hope to do it again. Maybe next time you can use the video chat, I was hoping to see yer lovely face. ;)  
**RoseTyler:** Some day. Gotta get a laptop first.  
**JNlad79:** You've not got a computer?  
**RoseTyler:** No, just the phone.  
**JNlad79:** Oh well, some day, as you said. Goodnight, Rose Tyler. Sweet dreams.  
**RoseTyler:** Goodnight!

**RoseTyler has left the room.**

**JNlad79 has left the room.**

**DoctorJones is active.**

**DoctorJones:** Finally! What'd I miss?  
**DoctorJones:** Dammit, you're all gone. Every time! This happens EVERY TIME. Wankers.

Rose woke up the next day with a smile on her face. She'd had a nice time talking to John, and even Jack before they'd had their misunderstanding. She checked her phone first thing and saw that she had notifications. She opened the chat app and saw that there were several messages waiting for her. She smiled when she saw who they were from.

**DoctorJones left you a message:**  
_Rose, sorry I missed you earlier! Seems like you and John got on well enough though, I'm glad of that! I won't be at the shop today, classes all day. But I hope you'll come by the chat later – I should be on around 7 when I get home from my last lab. Hopefully I'll see you then!_

**JNlad79 left you a message:**  
_I've talked with Jack again, and he's not upset. In fact, he's supposed to send you a message apologizing so let me know if he doesn't, the tosser._

**CaptainJack left you a message:**  
_Rose, forgive me for last night. I shouldn't have left without giving you a chance. It was rude. To be fair, you shouldn't have pretended not to know who I was. So, I figure, turnabout's fair play and you owe me one. Go check your front porch._

Rose dropped the phone and ran out of her bedroom, towards the front door and swung it open. On the doorstep was a package. It was addressed to her, and seemed to have been hand delivered as there was no shipping information. She carried it back into her room and unwrapped it. Her jaw dropped. She picked her phone up again and went back to her messages.

**DoctorJones left you a message:**  
_Don't be mad at me, but I helped Jack with his scheme. Don't worry, I didn't give him your information, I just gave it to the courier service he arranged to deliver it. Your location is safe with me. ;)_

**CaptainJack left you a message:**  
_Sorry if I've overstepped my bounds. I've been told I've got more dollars than sense. But, see you soon? :)_

Rose glanced back at her bed. Sitting on top of her rumpled up pink duvet was a brand new, top of the line, laptop.


	2. Chapter 2

The day dragged on for Rose. Without Martha to talk to, she felt like she was bursting with excitement with no outlet for it. She finally caved around lunchtime and told Clara everything.

"Wait, you're telling me Jack Harkness, THE Jack Harkness, had a laptop delivered to your flat this morning to apologize for being rude? I want a hot Hollywood actor to be rude to me, if this is what you get from it." Clara mused, looking jealous.

"Yeah, I don't know. It's all a bit much, you know? A lot to take in. But they're all really nice, even Jack once we were sorted. Oh, watch my stuff, yeah? I've got to run to the loo."

Clara just nodded and took a bite of her lunch as Rose left. As she was coming back, she could swear she saw Clara getting into her purse. "What's up?"

"Huh?" Clara asked, looking up nonchalantly.

"What did you need?" Rose asked, gesturing towards her purse.

"Oh, nothing. It fell over and some things spilled out, just putting them back, that's all. So, are you going to be on there again tonight?"

"Yeah, suppose so. Probably a bit later, though. Told Mum I'd watch her client's kids while she works. It's the only way she gets some of these women to come to her. They give me a nice tip, though, so I'm not complaining."

"Good point. Well, I've got to run, but let's chat tomorrow, yeah? You can fill me in on the juicy details." Clara shot her a wink before turning to leave.

"Yeah, bye Clara. See you tomorrow."

Once Rose finally got home, she couldn't wait to finish up with the kids. They were great, but her mind was very much elsewhere. And their mum noticed. She gave Rose a nasty look as Rose only just stopped the youngest from running into the table at the last minute. As they left, Rose could hear her complaining to her mum. She sighed and mentally gave up that tip money as she turned to go to her room. "Mum, I'm going to my room. I'll be on the phone, so don't worry if you hear voices."

"All right, love. Come say goodnight before you go to bed, yeah?" Jackie replied from the front hallway.

"Will do." Rose closed her door and ran over to the bed, where she'd covered the laptop with her blanket while it charged. She hadn't gotten a chance to do much more than that, as she'd been running late. She opened it up and turned it on, waiting for it to power up. She glanced down at her phone and saw that there were several people on the chat already, including Martha, John and Jack. She just barely kept herself from logging on while she waited – she wanted to use Jack's gift to log in, so she could use the video feature. As the computer powered up, she noted that it was already set up. It prompted her for a password and she froze. "What the…? How am I supposed to know the password? I just opened the bloody thing! Wait…he wouldn't, would he?" She reached for the keyboard and slowly typed out "CaptainJack" - the computer unlocked immediately. "I should have known," she muttered.

As soon as everything had loaded, she could see a file on the desktop that said "Play Me First" - she clicked on it and it opened a video player, showing Jack Harkness' smiling face.

"_Hello, Rose. Once you've played this, it will delete itself from your computer. But I just wanted to say again that I'm very sorry and I hope you enjoy your present. Yes, it's overkill. But what the hell, I've got more money than I know what to do with. So why not, right? Hopefully I'll see your smiling face soon. Muah!"_ he concluded, blowing a kiss to the camera right before it ended, and, as promised, the file was now gone. But the desktop picture had changed to one of Jack in character from his role on Gallifrey One. He had a laser gun held up and was posed for what seemed to be one of the promotional pictures from the show. She let out a big laugh, she'd always fancied him in that costume, just a bit. Not that he needed to know that.

She saw, too, that the icon for the chat program seemed to be set up as well. All she had to do was plug in her headphones and log in. She quickly recalled that they would be able to see her so she ran off as it was loading to check her reflection in the mirror.

**RoseTyler has entered the room.**

"ROSE!" she heard her name come through the speakers on her headphones from across the room. She'd have to turn it down. She ran back over to the computer and put them to her ear. "Rose?" she heard again, confused this time. "Where is she?"

"Here! I'm here! Just, hold on a mo', I seem to be tangled!" she twisted around trying to get the headphone cords sorted and managed to fall down, supremely gracelessly, right in front of the camera.

"Rose? Are you okay, lass? I saw a bit of blonde there for a minute but then you disappeared again." she heard a familiar voice say.

"Yeah. I'm all right." she said, sitting up slowly, cheeks burning from embarrassment. She could have heard Jack's laughter from across the globe, if it weren't right in her ear.

"Worth every penny, for this moment right here. Hello, Rose," he said, grinning.

"Hush, you. Leave her be. Everybody falls down now and then. Right, Martha?" John asked.

"You'd know! Hi Rose."

Rose pulled her hair out of her face, and glanced up at the screen and saw all of their faces, at last. "Hi," she muttered, embarrassed.

"There's that pretty face I remember. Jack, did I send you that picture Martha sent me?"

"No, but speaking of pictures, how do you like your desktop picture?" Jack asked, smirking. "I assume, seeing as how you're on here, you figured out the password easy enough."

Rose recovered from her embarrassment, and quickly retorted, "Bit easy to predict, mate. Hate to break it to you. But thanks, yeah? It was a big surprise."

"Well, don't worry about it. Like I said, worth every penny so far."

**ImpossibleGirl:** Where'd everyone go? Everyone just stopped talking all of a sudden.

"Who's that?" asked Rose, glancing down at the chat screen.

"No idea. She somehow got into our locked room and we haven't been able to figure out how, yet. She says it wasn't locked, that she just found it by accident. She seems nice enough, though. But we haven't told her we're using the video feature," said Martha, frowning. "Don't want another stalker, after the last one."

"Last one?" asked Rose, starting to get a bad feeling about who the other person in the room was.

"Yeah, John had a pretty bad stalker a while back, seems to crop up every now and then but this one was bad. She found his flat in Glasgow, even, and showed up – scaled the walls and made it to his balcony. So you can understand my concern last night, because it's happened to me, too. Not to that extreme, but still, can't be too careful."

"Absolutely," Rose agreed, stomach in knots as she looked down at her phone. She knew for a fact that she'd closed out of all of her emails before lunch and hadn't touched the email program since. If she was correct…. She pulled up the email program and sure enough, her email from Martha with all the chat room information, including the password, was opened. "Will you guys excuse me for a mo'? I need to make a phone call."

Rose turned off her microphone and walked away from the computer, pulling out her phone to make a call she didn't want to make. It rang three times and went to voicemail, so she dialed Martha instead.

"Rose? What's up?"

"Martha, don't be mad at me, but I think that's Clara there in the chat."

"What? How did she even know about it?"

"Well, she heard what you said about knowing John, and we talked about it earlier today – I was so surprised by the laptop and I just needed to talk to someone about it. And I think she pulled out my phone while I was in the loo and looked up the email you sent me."

"Why would she do that?"

"I don't know. I don't think she's trying to cause trouble or anything, I just think she was feeling left out, and, well, she sometimes has a weird way of going about things."

Martha sighed, "Well, what are we gonna do about it? Have you tried calling her?"

"Yeah, she didn't answer. She must know that I know it's her. I could go over to her flat – but I don't want her to think I'm attacking her. I just want to talk to her."

"All right, why don't you let it go for now – maybe text her and ask her to call you and see how things play out. If there's no issues, then maybe we don't have to say anything about it."

"Yeah, guess that makes sense. Oh, wait, she's calling me now, I'll call you right back."

"Okay, talk to you in a bit."

Rose switched the call over to the other line. "Hello?"

"Hey Rose, sorry, I was in the shower when you called. What's up?"

Rose paused, if she was really in the shower then it couldn't have been her in the chat. Or she was lying. Rose had to decide whether to trust her instincts, or to trust one of her oldest friends even if she thought she was lying to her. She sighed, "Clara, I know you weren't in the shower. I'm not mad at you, not really. But just be honest with me and admit that you looked through my phone on lunch to get the chat information."

"What? I don't know what you're talking about. I told you, I was just putting things back in your purse that fell out."

"Yeah? Then why was my email opened to that message, when I distinctly remember closing out of it."

"I dunno, love. Phones are weird like that."

Rose sat back down to the computer, minimizing the chat program and pulling up the browser and logging into her email. She wanted to confirm her suspicions before continuing on the accusation. "Yeah, well I'm looking at my email now, and for some reason, the last outgoing message I have is a forward to you. I haven't emailed you in weeks."

There was an awkward silence on the line. Then it disconnected. "Clara? Clara! Dammit." Rose dropped the phone, rubbing her temples in frustration. She realized she was still on camera and pulled the chat back up, putting her headphones back in. "Sorry about that," she said, "I'm back."

"No worries, love. We made it through somehow. But you know, you and Martha aren't exactly sneaky, going off to make phone calls to each other. We were starting to think you were talking about us," said John, grinning.

"Maybe we were," added Martha, winking at the camera.

"Yeah, could be," said Rose, trying to lighten the bad feeling she had in her stomach.

**ImpossibleGirl has left the chat.**

"Oh, that's too bad. She was nice," said Jack, putting on a fake pout.

"Oi! We not good enough for you tonight, Mr. Harkness?" asked Martha, feigning offense.

"No, it's me that's not good enough for you, Martha. As always," he shot back, blowing her a kiss through the computer.

"And don't you forget it!" she replied, smiling.

A knock on Rose's door surprised her. "Hold on, there's someone here. I'll be right back."

"But you just got back, lass!" cried John, frowning.

"I know, sorry," she muttered, "'S probably my mum. And well, as great as she is, it's probably for the best she doesn't know what I'm up to. She still thinks everyone on the internet is a dirty old man looking to kidnap me."

"She's not wrong…" muttered Jack, grinning towards John's portion of the screen.

"Watch it, you! She'll be on to us and then where will we be?" John replied, holding his finger up to his lips to indicate silence.

Rose laughed and muted herself again while she went to get the door. To her surprise, it was Clara, not her mum. "Clara! What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk? Outside, maybe? I know you're on the chat thing, so that's probably best."

"Sure. Mum, Clara and I are going out to talk for a bit. Don't lock me out, yeah?"

"All right, but close the bloody door. It's freezing out there."

Rose and Clara left the apartment and walked down towards the stairwell and sat down, as they'd done for most of their lives.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I did it, I'm sorry I lied, and I'm sorry I hung up. I just kind of panicked when you caught me and didn't know what to do. So I thought I should just come over here to talk in person. Better that way."

Rose nodded, looking down at her feet. "Why, though?"

"I dunno. I just, I guess I just wanted to be a part of it, yeah? I didn't want to lose you to Martha. We've been friends our whole lives, and then here comes Martha with these famous guys and suddenly she's got something to offer you that I don't. I guess I just feel like we've drifted apart since you came home after Jimmy, and I don't want that. But I don't know what to do about it."

Rose sighed, "I don't know either. I wish you'd just asked, though. It probably wouldn't have been a big deal. But now, I dunno." Her phone started buzzing in her pocket. "It's Martha, hold on." She answered the phone, "Hey Martha."

"Hey, what's up? Did she call you?"

"No, she's here. She came over."

"Can I talk to her?" asked Clara, reaching for the phone.

"Yeah, hold on. Martha, Clara wants to talk to you," Rose said, handing the phone to Clara. She got up and walked out of Rose's earshot to take the call, but Rose overheard her apologizing as she went. She got up and walked back towards the door to her flat, and leaned against the railing, looking down at the courtyard below. A few minutes passed before Clara returned, smiling, and handed the phone back to her. "How'd it go?"

"Just fine. I apologized, and told her what I told you, and she said not to worry about it and said I should come join you guys in your room. She'll just tell them you've got a friend over and they never need to know that I was in there. That way if they like me, I can come back, with a new screenname. And if not, she'll change the password on the chat. Seemed fair. You okay with that?"

"Yeah. That's…that's brilliant actually."

"Well, you know, now that I've talked with her for a bit, I think I can see what you like about her. Aside from the famous friends, part," Clara said, winking.

"All right, well, let's go back in. I'll get in there first and let them know you're coming, yeah?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

Clara was, of course, a hit with everyone. Rose was a little annoyed that what was supposed to be a big night for her to get to talk to them had turned out to be mostly about Clara. But it was nice to get to spend some time with her friend, and it was a relief that things had worked out. John had only been around for about fifteen minutes after Clara got there, then he had to go to an appearance. And Martha had an early class the next day, so she'd only been around for about an hour before she called it a night. So it had just been Rose, Clara and Jack. And they'd got on very well. Clara and Jack were a force to be reckoned with when it came to flirtatiousness. And Rose found it difficult to keep up with them at times, but was highly amused, none the less. Clara, it turned out, had snuck in a bottle of whiskey and she and Rose had traded off drinking tiny amounts. Clara had said earlier that she thought Rose was a bit shy, so she should drink a little to help loosen her tongue. Jack had whole heartedly agreed, and despite being eight hours behind them, making it early afternoon for him, had declared that it was his day off and he'd day drink if he wanted to and had joined them, toasting through the camera.

"So, Jack. What's the most embarrassing moment you've ever had in public?" asked Clara, pulling another drink of whiskey.

"Oh, there are some good ones. But I'll have to say one of the first times I ever got recognized in public was one of the most embarrassing moments. I was at an electronics store, blowing my first paycheck that hadn't gone to pay off my student loans, and there were these two girls who kept eyeing me and whispering to each other. Trying to be suave, I went to lean on a display and pose. Just as they looked back, the display fell over and I fell flat on my arse."

"Oh my god, you did not!" squealed Rose, falling back onto her bed laughing.

"I swear, it happened. John was there, ask him about it next time you see him."

"I will, you just watch!" exclaimed Clara. Her phone buzzed and she looked down to check it, she sighed and turned to get up. "It's Kris. Hold on, I gotta take this. I'll be right back."

"Keep it down though, yeah? Mum's finally gone to bed, I don't want her in here checking on us."

"Why, you ashamed of talking to me, Rose Tyler, who needs a better screen name?" Jack asked, laughing.

"Not at all, Captain Jack who needs a better screen name. I just don't want her to come in here and start yelling at you for corrupting her daughter."

"Please, if I wanted to corrupt you, I'd have done it already," he replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, reckon you would have," she admitted, grinning.

"Who's this Chris bloke Clara's talking to?"

"Not a bloke. It's Kris with a K. And I'll let her tell you, if she feels like it. Not really my place. Only they do tend to get a bit loud on the phone and I really hope she doesn't wake up my mum."

"Loud as in…?"

"No! Get your mind out of the gutter, Harkness! Just, heated. Anyway, it's not my business to talk about it."

"Got it. By the way, just so you know, neither of us are fooled about her. We both kind of figured out she was the girl who was in here earlier by your dramatic exit and multiple phone calls with Martha after we brought it up. Don't worry, it's fine. But, well, I just don't want you to make it a habit of lying to us. She's a nice girl, but you really need to talk with us before giving out this information because as we've told you, it can go wrong pretty easily. I'd hate to have to stop talking to you guys and find another place."

Rose thought about what he said, her cheeks burning from being caught out. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Jack. You must think I'm awful, after all this."

Jack sighed, "Rose, if I thought you were awful, I wouldn't be wasting one of my rare days off talking to you. And I certainly wouldn't have bought you a laptop. I just think you're young, and a bit overwhelmed. And that's fine. Just, I want you to not think about us as 'famous' or anything. We're just a couple of blokes who enjoy talking to good people – without the pressure of having to be 'on' all the time, you know? It's more important to John, really. But he's my best friend and if this is what he wants, I'm all for it. Means we get to see each other's faces more often."

"Yeah. I can understand that. So what happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"With the stalkers?"

"Yeah."

"Well, sadly, they started off just like this. Of course, the first couple were before we started doing the video chats. John got a kick out of going into chat rooms and talking with people, just as a random stranger. Not telling them who he is. But after a while, they would get on well enough that he'd tell them. And sometimes it would turn out okay. We met a few good friends that way. But sometimes, well, people couldn't get past it. Couldn't see us as anything but actors. It started off innocent enough, but if we didn't pay them enough attention, they got angry and jealous when we talked to other people. And everytime we would come on, it was like they were waiting for us and showed up immediately. We'd change rooms, they'd follow us. A couple people managed to track down our personal information, phone numbers, address. That's how John got the one that showed up at his flat."

"That's awful," Rose said, leaning back against the head board of her bed. "How'd you manage to get rid of them?"

"Changed our screen names, for a lot of them. It sucked, and a lot of times we'd have to give up talking to the rest of the people we'd met because the person would track them, too. Otherwise, everyone would end up changing their screen names and we'd all start over again. Eventually, we decided it was easier to just stick to the few good friends we'd made, either online or the ones we'd met in person, like Harry and Martha. And we found this program. It's not as entertaining for John as the random chat lottery was, but after the last time, he's okay with that. His girlfriend was the only one home when it happened, and she had to call the police to come get the girl off the side of the building. Scared him pretty bad, that he wasn't there to do anything about it."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Rose murmured.

"Still, we get to meet new people – like you guys! So it's not a total loss," he added, trying to lighten the suddenly dark mood.

"I dunno, we're stuck with you, so…" she said, grinning.

"You wound me, Rose Tyler!"

The door opened and Clara returned to the room. "I'm back. Sorry about that."

"Everything okay?" asked Jack.

"Yeah. It's just, complicated."

"Who was it?" he asked.

"My girlfriend. Sort of. I mean, I'd like her to be. But she's married, so…you know, complicated."

"That does sound complicated," he agreed. "What did she want?"

"Wants me to come watch her kids tomorrow night."

"Kids too? Thats…"

"Complicated, I know. Anyway, I keep trying to end things, but she keeps managing to draw me back in. Every time. And it's like…like I don't have enough to deal with being openly bisexual, no. I've got to have all this on top of it."

"Well, did you know she was married when you started seeing her?"

"Yes. And no. We were friends. And it just kind of grew from there. Didn't even know I fancied women, too, until I met her. I don't want to keep doing this anymore. But she's my best friend, no offense Rose."

"None taken, love."

"I feel you," said Jack, opening another beer. "I really do. Literally feel your pain. I've been in love with my best friend for, oh….ten years?"

"But isn't your best friend…" began Clara.

"Yeah. Only, not only is he taken, but he's also straight. And that's okay. It's a shame to lose your best friend over unreturned feelings. So I got over it. Or so I say. But every once in a while, it's hard. Because we spend so much time together."

"I'm sorry, Jack," Rose said, "That must be painful."

"Don't be. It was my choice to keep him in my life. And he is my best friend, and friends like that in our line of work are rare. So I'm lucky. Just, you know, don't tell anyone. Not that I think you would, but I've got an image to maintain as a Hollywood playboy. I'm not quite ready to be out, yet. And who knows who I'll end up settling down with? If I meet the right woman, it may never have to come out. And if I meet the right man, well, I guess I'll deal with that when the time comes."

"Your secret's safe with us, mate. Don't worry," said Clara, glancing down at her phone to check the time. "Look, I should probably get going. But it's been great talking with you both tonight."

"Yeah, it was. And just keep in mind that you're worth more than to be someone's backup, okay? I know you may feel like the bad guy for being with a married woman, and in some senses I guess that's true. But what she's doing to you is just as bad. So don't let yourself get walked on, okay? Stand up for yourself, and ask that she make a choice. And if she won't choose you, then you really aren't losing anything – even if it hurts," said Jack. "Take it from someone who's been there a time or two, yeah?"

"Yeah, thanks Jack. Rose, I'll see you later, okay?" she turned and gave Rose a hug. "And keep the whiskey, you're not working tomorrow after all."

"Thanks. Text me when you get home, yeah?"

Clara rolled her eyes. "It's literally a two minute walk down to the next level. But yeah, I will. Goodnight you two!"

"Goodnight!" they chorused.

"Well, I should get going too," said Jack.

"What? I thought it was your day off?"

"Yeah, but I'm supposed to make an appearance at a premiere tonight, and I'm this close to being pissed so I need to take a nap first. But I'll talk with you again soon, I promise."

"All right then. Have a good nap, Jack."

"Thanks. I'll have sweet dreams of you," he said, grinning lasciviously at her.

"You're hopeless, you are! Go on, then. Get your beauty sleep."

"Bye Rose," he gave a quick salute towards her and then his screen blacked out, leaving Rose's face alone in the program.

"Well, that certainly wasn't how I thought the night would go," she murmured to herself, glancing over at the clock. It was roughly midnight. She was just contemplating getting ready for bed when another face popped up on her screen. This time it was John.

"Anybody there?" he called out, slurring slightly.

"Yeah, mate. I'm here," she replied, sitting back down and putting headphones in.

"Who's that? Is that Rose….Roooose. I like that name. Rose Tyler. A pretty name for a pretty girl."

Rose giggled. "Thanks, I think? Are you pissed?"

"I might have had a drink or two. Or more. I stopped counting."

"I thought you were going to that charity thing?"

"I thought so too. Seemed my better half had other plans. I asked her to marry me, you know. I don't know if I'd told you that. Shite, I don't think I've told you anything about her. Anyway, this was my fourth time asking her. She said no again, if you couldn't tell."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, well, I just keep asking. Definition of insanity, that. Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Only this time she reckons I was 'asking for the wrong reasons.' That was her reason for saying no this time."

"What does that even mean?" asked Rose, settling down under the covers.

"It means I was pretty sure she's fucking her colleague, pardon my language. She's a dancer. And this bloke's a dancer. And they've been spending a lot of time together, 'rehearsing' but, I reckon they're not rehearsing at all. She's there now, with him. She went to his flat after our row. It's been four hours. What exactly does one do at a colleague's house for four hours, in the middle of the night? No, don't answer that. I don't want to know. Fuck, I need another drink. I'll be right back," he got up and stumbled out of the frame. Rose began to get a bit worried for him as he returned a few minutes later with a large, half empty bottle of scotch. "That's better. Now where were we, Rose Tyler?"

"I dunno, mate. You were telling me what happened tonight."

"Oh that. Yeah, rubbish, that was. Why doesn't she want to marry me? I mean, I'm not a bad looking guy. Pretty good career, even if it isn't what it used to be. I'm sure lots of women would want to marry me."

"I'm sure they would."

"Yeah. But I can't let her go. I don't even know why anymore. It's been rubbish for a long time now. I should have known after the second time I asked her to marry me that I should walk away. Just waaaaaalk away. But I don't. So really, I do this to myself. Every time." He took a long gulp from the bottle.

"Maybe you should slow down, yeah?"

"Or maybe you should speed up, hmm?" he replied, nodding toward the bottle of whiskey to her right. "I see you lot had fun without me. That's good. Someone should have fun tonight."

"Yeah, well it was all a bit of soul sharing and sadness around here. But I'd say we had a better night than you, that's for sure."

He snorted and took another drink, reducing the bottle's contents to half of what they'd been. "Yeah, well. Can't win 'em all, right?"

"No, you can't, I suppose. Listen, you should probably go to bed. Not that I don't enjoy talking to you, but you're going to have one massive hangover tomorrow as it is. On top of everything else you've got to deal with."

"You're right, Rose Tyler. You're a smart lady. A beautiful one, too. I wish you were here."

"I am. I'm right here. Just, put down the bottle, yeah? And go get yourself a water. You'll thank me in the morning."

"I'd like to thank you for something else in the morning," he muttered, giggling into the bottle as he took another drink.

"Now I know you're pissed. Look, you're just angry with her for whatever it is she may or may not be doing. But you don't want to stoop to that level. You're better than that. And maybe she is too, yeah? You never know. But I do know that if you do something stupid tonight, you're going to regret it. And I don't want that for you. So you should really go have a lie down."

"I'm hungry," he said suddenly, clearly not paying her any attention. "I'm gonna see what I can find in the kitchen. Don't go anywhere!"

"Be careful!" she shouted at his retreating figure. "Blimey, he's likely to burn the flat down, he is." She rolled her eyes and looked around her room, trying to clear her head. The buzz from the whiskey had started to fade and she gently tossed the bottle away from her bed, where it rolled and hit the wall. Suddenly she found she had no interest in it anymore. She went to the message section of the chat program and looked up Jack's name.

**RoseTyler left CaptainJack a message:**  
_Jack, when you get this, I need you to log into the chat, immediately. Please. x Rose_

**CaptainJack left you a message:**  
_Miss me already, sweet Rose? And I hadn't even fallen asleep yet…_

John returned to the screen just then, sucking on his finger from where he'd clearly burned it making whatever it is he'd made. "Toast is evil, Rose. Don't trust toast. Also my scotch is gone and that's the last I had in the house. I'm going to have to go out and get some more."

"John, I think that's a very bad idea. Is there someone you can call? Someone who can come over and stay with you?"

"Why, you sick of me already?"

"No, but I'm not exactly there with you."

"A fact I'm all too aware of," he sighed. "Donna. But I don't want to call her this late."

"Is Donna your sister?"

"Yeah. Donna's great."

"You should call her."

"Nah, I don't feel like it. I feel like…." his words were cut short, as suddenly he fell over, off of the chair.

"John? JOHN! John, are you okay? John! Talk to me!"

He didn't respond. She reached for her phone again.

**RoseTyler left CaptainJack a message:**  
_Sorry, but it's really important. I need to talk to you now – something's happened to John._

**CaptainJack left you a message:**  
_What's your phone number?_

Rose had no sooner sent her number to Jack when her phone rang.

"What happened?"

"I dunno. He came on right after you left, totally pissed and he drank about another half a bottle of scotch while he was on with me. Which wasn't very long. Something happened with his girlfriend, and he was really upset. And he just sort of fell over and he hasn't gotten back up. Before that, I asked him if there was anyone he could call, and he said his sister, but I don't have any way to reach her and I don't know where he lives so I can't call an ambulance and I'm scared, Jack. I don't know if he's okay. Can you reach his sister?"

"Yeah. I'll call her now. I'll call you back. Stay by the computer."

He hung up after that and Rose sat watching the computer, feeling utterly helpless, as she waited for something to happen. She'd never felt so powerless in her life, except for the night her dad died. Finally her phone rang again and she answered it immediately. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Jack again. I reached Donna. She tore me a new one for calling this late, but she's on her way over to his flat now. My internet crashed after I did so I can't get on the video chat. Will you stay on the line with me until she gets there?"

"Of course."

"Have you seen him?"

"No. I think he's on the floor."

"How much do you think he had?"

"Well, the bottle was half empty when he came online and he was already pissed, so I'd say he drank the whole bottle."

Jack swore. "The idiot. He does this every time. And it's not like he doesn't already know she's using him. And she treats him like crap. And he just keeps taking it, and just keeps getting drunk hoping it will help. And I honestly don't know what I can do, really."

Rose said nothing to this, not feeling like it was her place to voice an opinion on the topic. Finally, she heard noises on the other end of the chat in the headphone that was still in her ear. "Jack, I think she's there."

"Thank god," he muttered.

Rose watched as a red haired woman came into the frame and squatted down to where she was pretty sure John had fallen to.

"Come on, love. Come on. Let's get you to bed."

"Wha's happening? Donna? Why're you here?"

"Because you've got yourself some really good friends, and had yourself way too much to drink. We can talk about it tomorrow but you need to get to bed. Come on."

Rose watched as Donna led John out of the room. "He's all right," she informed Jack. "She got him up and is getting him to bed."

Jack let out an audibly relieved breath. "Thanks to you," he said.

"Yeah, well, I didn't do much. You were the one that got a hold of his sister."

"But I wouldn't have known I needed to if it weren't for you. I'm glad you were there."

"Yeah, me too."

"All right, well I've really got to get going to this thing. It's kind of mandatory for me to be there. But I'll talk to you again soon. I'm really, really glad you were there tonight, Rose. You probably stopped him from doing something really stupid. And I'm sure once he's back in his right mind, he'll agree with me. Go get some sleep. You've earned it."

"Thanks, Jack," she said, "Goodnight."

She sat looking at the computer a while longer, wondering if she should close the program or if she should wait to see if anything changed. Finally, after a minute or two, Donna appeared back in the frame and approached the computer. "Are you Rose, then?"

"Yeah," Rose answered, timidly.

"Thank you, Rose. That would have been a lot worse if it weren't for you. So really, thank you. I'll make sure he checks in with you tomorrow, but you might want to send him a message – tell him what a dumbo he was tonight, and tell him you saved his skinny arse. Do him some good to remember that there are people who care about him. I'm going to go, now. But take care. And thanks again."

"No problem, thank you, too. Dunno what I would have done if he hadn't told me about you."

Donna eyed her appraisingly. "You're a smart girl, you'd have figured something out. Goodnight, Rose."

"Goodnight, Donna."

John's screen blinked out and Rose was left looking at her own face before she closed the video function. She pulled up the message section and jotted out a note to John before going to bed.

**RoseTyler left JNlad79 a message:**  
_Hi there. I hope you're feeling okay, by the time you see this. Drop me a line later, if you can? Just want to make sure you're doing all right._

With that, Rose realized there was nothing more she could do about any of it for the night, and decided to go to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**JNlad79 left RoseTyler a message: **  
_I am so sorry. Donna filled me in, at length, and with much derision, about what happened last night. Honestly, I dinnae remember much. I barely remember talking to you. I dinnae remember what happened, really. But I know you were there and that you made sure I was okay, which, considering the distance, was quite a feat. I really appreciate it. I'd like to make it up to you. Jack's show ends filming this week, and he will be coming home on Thursday. Can I treat you to dinner on Friday? In London, of course. And with everyone. I'll call Martha, and you should invite Clara too. I was an arse, and whether you decide to tell anyone is up to you, but just in case you do, I feel the need to make it up to everyone. Let me know if you can do Friday, and I'll make a reservation. xo John_

**RoseTyler left JNlad79 a message:**  
_Don't worry. Other than those involved (Jack and Donna) I will not speak a word to anyone. You're entitled to your privacy and you deserve it, far be it for me to mess with that. I only got as involved as I did because I was worried. Otherwise I wouldn't have said a word to anyone. Dinner sounds lovely. I'll invite Martha and Clara, just let me know where to invite them to. I'm glad you are okay, I was worried. But not judging, you had a legitimate reason to be upset and anyone would be, in that position. So don't be too hard on yourself. I'm here if you want to talk. Jack has my phone number if you'd prefer to speak over the phone, rather than the group chat. Up to you. I'll see you (in person!) soon! Take care!_

**JNlad79 left RoseTyler a message:**  
_Shite. Jack got your phone number first? I really screwed things up. Okay, let's plan on dinner for everyone on Friday night, my treat, and I'll email you the reservations once I make them._

**RoseTyler left JNlad79 a message:**  
_Sounds good. And no, you didn't screw anything up. Looking forward to meeting you in person! I hope you have a better week! Xoxo_

Rose was hesitant about going back into the chat, considering what had happened last time. Jack had been in almost constant contact with her since then, feeling that she'd developed a very close bond with John, moreso than any of their other friends, so he wanted to monitor the situation. But after the last time, John had yet to make an appearance in the chat. He'd emailed her, but hadn't faced her in the chat yet. She figured he was embarrassed and didn't want anyone else to know what had happened, and Rose was obliged to maintain that illusion. It wasn't their business. So she invited Clara and Martha under the pretenses that it was Jack's homecoming, and he was really excited to see them all. They both agreed to go.

Rose had gotten in the habit of turning on the chat when she was just hanging out in her room, even if she was the only one there, on the off chance that someone would show up. It was because of this reason that she met John's girlfriend, and would be fiance. Rose was busy folding laundry and cleaning her room, when someone popped up on the screen.

**Doc'sPrincess has joined the chat.**

**Doc'sPrincess**: Are you Rose?  
**RoseTyler:** Yes. And who are you?  
**Doc'sPrincess:** I'm Reinette, John's girlfriend. I know you heard all about the sordid details of last night, and some of them were misinformed, but I only wished to thank you for making sure he was okay. I do love him, whether you believe it or not. He's a good man, and I love him. And thanks to you, he will continue to be a good man. So thank you.  
**RoseTyler:** You're welcome. I'm glad he is okay as well.  
**Doc'sPrincess:** You don't like me, do you? He's probably convinced you I'm a cheating bitch, I'm sure. Well, I'm not. A cheater, at least. I'm sure many would call me a bitch. But I do love him. And he seems to care about you quite a lot. So I want to make an effort to reach out to you, so we can maybe be friends too.  
**RoseTyler:** If we're being candid, can I ask you why you spent the night at the house of the man he thought you to be sleeping with? It made things worse, from the perspective I have.  
**Doc'sPrincess:** He's gay. The man I was with is gay. I was just angry with John for assuming the worst in me. So I foolishly tried to play the worst hand I could. I realize now it was a horrible thing to do, and had far-reaching consequences. But I really did want to thank you for being there for him. I should have known better than to do that, so I appreciate you being there for him.  
**RoseTyler:** Again, if we're being candid, why do you keep saying no to marrying him? He loves you, he's a good man, I just don't understand.  
**Doc'sPrincess:** No, you wouldn't. And that's a good thing. You're young, and you're still hopeful and believe in true love. Once you reach a certain age, you realize 'true love' is just an agreement made by both parties. And I'm not sure I'm ready to make that contract with him yet. He's with me because he wants to raise his social status in Glasgow – my family is a big deal here. And I'm with him because of the same reasons – I want to marry outside of the group of suitors provided to me. Somewhere along the way we decided we actually like each other, and then again decided we don't. But it's for the best for both of us. So I just wanted to say, I hope you don't think anything more will happen with you and John. I know he's to meet with you on Friday, but I just want to make sure we're both clear about things, so you don't do anything you'd regret, you understand? He might try, but you should know he would always pick his reputation over anything else. And his reputation relies on me.  
**RoseTyler:** Noted. So, are you going to be there on Friday?  
**Doc'sPrincess:** I wasn't planning to be, should I? I want to trust you, Rose. I want to like you. Can I?  
**RoseTyler:** Yes, you can.  
**Doc'sPrincess:** Good. I'm not a big fan of the internet, so this makes me happy. I won't have to try too hard. I won't be there this week, but I do hope to meet you soon. And I hope you take away from this that I love John, and will, one day, agree to marry him. It just isn't time. And I look forward to meeting you, you seem like a wonderful girl  
**RoseTyler:** You too. But, as John's friend, I have to ask that you please be kinder to him. It was scary watching him that night, and seeing how he reacted. I am sure you are a wonderful woman, but please try not to be needlessly cruel to him again. I don't think he can handle it.

**RoseTyler has left the chat.**

The week seemed to crawl by after that. The only upside being that she, Martha and Clara all got to work together for three days in a row leading up to Friday. Spring was in the air, and Martha had just finished her exams so she was in an excellent mood and all in all, they were looking forward to celebrating on Friday. Despite knowing John and Jack for over a year, she'd not met them in person and was really excited to do so. Rose hadn't mentioned anything about what happened with John, so they didn't know what had brought on this sudden interest in meeting in person.

"I reckon his girlfriend finally said yes to marrying him and he wants to do a big announcement with everyone there," Martha mused over chips at lunch on Friday.

Rose looked away, uncomfortably, "Nah, I reckon he just wants to celebrate Jack coming home for the summer. His show's doing really well, so he won't have a lot of free time anymore. And since Jack lives here in London, they wanted us to come too." This was partly true, at least. "Besides, I um, I actually talked to John's girlfriend last night. I got the distinct impression that the opposite happened."

"Ohh, you met Reinette? John must like you. She pretends she's one of the gang when she comes around, but she only comes on to snoop and get information. If she sought you out, she must think you're a threat," said Martha, laughing. At Rose's look of discomfort she quickly added, "Only joking. She's nice enough, but they've got a twisted relationship and I just try to stay out of it, to be honest."

"Yeah, that's my plan," said Rose, frowning slightly. "Anyway, she won't be there tonight. I think it's just them and the three of us, right?"

"I'm bringing Mickey," Martha said, grinning.

"What! This'll be like your 6th date, you guys getting serious on us?" asked Clara, with a wink.

"Never! Well, maybe. I dunno yet. We'll see how things go over the summer now that I'll have some free time."

"Oh, Martha – I'm so happy for you!" said Rose, reaching across the table to pat Martha on the shoulder.

"Yeah, now we just need to find you someone, Rose," said Clara, laughing.

Rose knew there was someone she had found, but would never admit it, even to them. It was just too complicated and all wrong at the moment. So she just rolled her eyes, "Yeah, not very likely. Have you seen the single blokes around here? Not a chance."

"I dunno, Rose, what about Jack? He's single and he's definitely interested, you never know…." Martha said, finishing her lunch.

Rose and Clara exchanged a glance and both burst out laughing. To cover for this, as she wasn't sure if Martha knew that Jack's interests were elsewhere, she said, "And he lives across the bloody world. Not gonna happen."

"Stranger things have happened," Martha said, shrugging. "So do you want to share a cab tonight? We could meet at my place, or I could come to you since you're in the same building."

"Maybe," replied Rose, pulling out her wallet to pay for lunch. "It's my early day today, so I'm off in a couple of hours. Not sure what I'll get up to yet, but I'll check in with you a little later."

They parted ways as they got back to work, heading to their respective stations. Rose was willing the time to move faster and finally it was almost time for her to clock out when her manager called her to the front of the store. She swore under her breath, taking one last longing look at the clock.

"Rose, dear, I know you're almost off duty, but you've been requested specifically by a VIP customer. Now, I know it isn't your department, but I do hope you'd do us a favor and assist this customer anyway," said Harriet, her manager. "Very high profile, and there'll be a high commission for you as well."

Rose's eyes widened. "Absolutely, Harriet. I don't mind at all."

"No, I rather thought you wouldn't," Harriet grinned, "especially when you see who the customer is. Come along."

Rose had a feeling she knew who would be there when they reached their destination, which appeared to be the Men's Apparel department. Rose was thoroughly unsurprised to see Jack Harkness leaning against a display counter watching them approach, looking every bit the dashing television star.

"Mr. Harkness, Ms. Tyler would be delighted to assist you with anything you need."

"I bet she would," said Jack, through a particularly smug grin.

"Rose, I'll be upstairs if you need anything. Send one of the other girls up to fetch me if you do."

"Yes, ma'am."

Jack waited until Harriet had turned the corner and engulfed Rose in a massive hug. "Nice to finally see you. You're even more gorgeous in person, how's that fair?"

"You sweet talker! Good to see you, too. Couldn't wait until tonight?" she replied cheekily.

"Not a chance. We tried to get Martha and Clara, too. But I guess that's not part of their job description so the scary lady would only get you."

"Harriet's a sweetheart, she's not scary. And did you say 'we'?"

"Yeah, John's in the loo. Ten quid says he gets lost trying to find his way back and we end up finding him in the basement."

"Security's too good, they stopped me before I reached the basement door," said John, approaching unseen from behind them. "Hello, Rose. Lovely to see you, give us a hug!"

Rose turned to greet him and was swept up in a hug almost before she'd turned around. He leaned towards her ear, whispering, "Thank you, again."

She looked up and met his eyes, which were so earnest and looked truly happy to see her, and she knew she was a goner for him. He held her close for a second longer than was strictly necessary, before stepping back and turning to Jack. "So, I think Jack wanted to buy out the store?"

Jack laughed, "Well, I like to travel light, so I'll need some things for the summer. I hope that's okay?"

"Sure. Come on, we've got a VIP lounge, sort of. Well, it's more of a private dressing room, but it'll do."

"Sounds good. Lead the way."

"So you can stare at my bum? No way."

"But you're the only one who knows how to get there, so you have to," John said, smirking. "Seeing your bum will just be an added bonus for us, now that you've pointed it out."

Rose rolled her eyes fondly and lead them towards the dressing room. She glanced back and caught them both staring, as she expected, but they had the good sense to pretend they weren't when she caught them.

"All right, we'll need to get your measurements and then I'll get you some champagne and I can start bringing things in."

"Or, how about I go look around and pick out some things I like, since I know my size better than you, and you can get paid to hang out in here for a little while?"

"That's not really how this works. The whole point is so you don't have to walk around the store and get harassed," Rose said, frowning.

"I can handle myself. Take a break, Rose. That's an order. And if I see the scary lady again, I'll tell her I made you do it."

"An order? Well, fine, but the scary lady's my boss, not you. But aye, aye, Captain Jack."

"And you," he said, turning to John. "Behave."

"I'm pretty sure that's my line," John retorted.

"Well, you're the one with the recent history of bad behaviour when combined with alcohol and blondes, so it's my turn."

"Go on, then. We'll be fine." John waved him out of the room. Jack gave a salute and exited the dressing room.

"So, how was the rest of your week? I didn't hear much from you. I hope you're doing better?" Rose asked.

"Much better, now I'm here. I'm in my favorite city, with my best mate, and my best…Rose," he finished, lamely.

"Well, that's the spirit. How long are you in town for?"

"Just the weekend. I've landed a role, so I'll be out of the country filming for a while." He walked over to where the champagne bucket and glasses were and peeled off the foil on the top of the bottle.

"Oh, that's good, right?"

"Yep!" he agreed, emphasizing the 'p' at the same time that he managed to pop the cork on the champagne, making Rose giggle. "That's a lovely sound," he murmured, handing her the glass he'd just poured. "But, it means I'll be without an internet connection. We'll be very much 'on location' – which is code for the back of beyond. Not sure I'll even get my phone to work, but I'm going to try. Speaking of which," he said, sitting down next to her on the plush sofa, "I need your phone number, Rose Tyler. If I've got to go three weeks without seeing your face, I'd like to at least be able to call you now and again, see if you're alright and make sure Jack hasn't swept you off your feet."

"Oh, and that'd be such a bad thing?" she grinned, letting him know she wasn't serious. "Here, have you got your phone on you?" He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, unlocking it for her. "I'll just put in my number for y…hang on, is that me?" she asked, seeing the background picture. It was, indeed, the picture Martha had taken and sent to him.

He blushed, "Well, er…no? Oh, all right. Yes. It's a lovely picture, and it made me happy when I got it to see that there were still fans, fans as gorgeous as you even. And then it's how I met you, and you've been a good friend. Made me smile the last couple of days. And they were rough days. It's only been on there since a couple of days ago, I swear!"

Rose blushed a little as well, trying and failing to catch his eye. "That's sweet. But I don't know if it's the best idea to let your girlfriend see that. She might get the wrong idea."

"Yeah, well, she and I are separating for a while, so it doesn't really matter what ideas she gets. At least until this movie is finished. After that, I dunno. But it'll be good to have some time apart, to clear my head. I feel like we've been doing this dance for years. And I'm bloody tired of dancing. She's the dancer, not me. And I think I've taken that analogy farther than I should have, but you get the picture. I just don't know if it's worth it anymore."

"I'm sorry," Rose said, quietly, taking his hand.

"Me too. But what are you gonna do? And besides, today, Rose Tyler, is about celebrating! And thanking you, but mostly celebrating! Jack's home, I'm in London, and I hear Martha's just finished her exams, so let's go spend an obscene amount of Jack's money, how's that sound?"

"Considering I get commission? That sounds fantastic!"

"I'm thinking we're buying you a gorgeous dress to wear tonight, and then you can leave the tab open at the end of the purchase so Martha and Clara can do the same."

"I don't think I feel comfortable getting paid to spend Jack's money on myself."

"Oh, come on. I'm buying something for myself as well. And if you let Jack pick the dress, he definitely won't care."

"I'm not letting him pick out a dress for me, I'd end up starkers!"

"Good point, that. All right, let me pick the dress then?"

"Not a chance. My dress, my decision."

"Oh, now it's your dress? Weren't you just the one saying you weren't comfortable with the whole thing?" he grinned down at her as they walked, only just realizing that they were still holding hands.

"Well, things change," she grinned back at him.

"That they do, Rose. That they do."


	4. Chapter 4

Dinner that night was an extravagant affair. Jack and John arrived in a limousine, drawing a crowd from the estate that Rose and Clara lived at. Rose was thankful that her mother wasn't home to see it, though she knew she'd hear all about it later. She, Clara and Martha wore brand new cocktail dresses, courtesy of Jack's much abused credit card, and Martha's boyfriend Mickey had even managed to get dressed up for the occasion. Jack and John took on the roles of overprotective big brothers and put poor Mickey through the Spanish Inquisition by the time they'd even arrived at the restaurant, much to Martha's delight. But by the time they were all seated, Mickey had earned their grudging respect and everyone was in high spirits. They'd opted for a Cuban restaurant and Jack made sure pitchers of Sangria never ran out as he and John regaled them with stories from the industry.

"So there we were, pretending to be in the middle of a bloody battle, but you know it's really this abandoned warehouse with green screens on the walls, and I turned around and John was just gone! I mean, gone! And there's only so many places to hide in one of these big rooms. They had to halt filming for 45 minutes because we couldn't find him anywhere!" Jack was saying.

"Oh my God! Where were you?" Rose asked, giggling as she took another sip of her drink.

"He was, wait for it, TRAPPED!" Jack exclaimed.

"Trapped? How could you get trapped, mate? You were in a bloody open warehouse?" Mickey asked, incredulously. John mumbled something unintelligible. "I'm sorry, mate, I didn't catch that."

"He was trapped in one of the prop coffins!" roared Jack, clapping his hands and laughing until tears started to come out.

"Why were you in a prop coffin in the first place?" queried Rose, after the laughter had died down a little.

John, whose face was tinted red from the drink and embarrassment, muttered, "Fancied a kip," causing the whole table to roar with laughter once again.

"All right, all right, but then there was the time that Jack surprised the male lead with a kiss right before he was suppose to film a serious scene and they had to call an early lunch break because no one could stop laughing. Pretty sure you got fined for that one, whereas mine was just an innocent mistake."

"Yeah, but it was worth it. He couldn't film a scene with me with a straight face again."

"That's probably why you stopped getting as much airtime," snickered John.

"No, Uni is why I stopped getting as much airtime. We can't all be geniuses who get their degrees before they hit puberty," Jack joked, smiling warmly.

"Wait, you're actually a genius? I thought that was just on the show?" interjected Clara.

"Well, I don't like to brag…," started John.

Rose interrupted with a grinning, "Liar!"

"Well, yes, I do love to brag. It just hadn't come up yet."

"What are you doing acting, mate? You could be running the world!" exclaimed Mickey.

"Are you saying the noble pastime of acting is beneath the likes of a genius?" teased Jack.

"You almost have to be a genius to remember all those lines, I reckon," added Martha, flagging for the waitress to refill their pitcher.

"Too true. Which is why John tended to make up a lot of his own, back in the day. Drove the writers up the wall, he did," Jack added.

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone I said that, I don't want to end up like that bloke from that American sit-com."

"Kinda hard for them to have your character fall down an elevator shaft when your show's been off the air for several years," teased Rose.

"Yes, but there's always syndication and editing, my young, naive friend," John replied, somberly.

"You're impossible!" she exclaimed, grinning widely.

"So I'm told. Who wants to dance?" he asked, reaching out for Rose's hand.

"Nah, count me out," Clara said, sadly. "I think it's time I had a talk with Kris."

Rose, who was holding John's hand, turned back to her, surprised. "Tonight? Can't it wait, love?"

"No. I'm gonna do it now while I've got the liquid courage and the good vibes from tonight."

"All right, then. Good luck, check in after, yeah?"

"I'll walk you out," said Jack, looking uncharacteristically serious.

"Thanks. Bye, you lot! Have a good time!"

Jack led Clara outside to where the limousine was parked. "Take the limo, if you want to do it in person, he'll wait for you. If you'd rather do it over the phone, he'll just take you home. If I need to, I'll order another one. But listen, don't take no for an answer. If you want out, tell her you're done and don't let her disway you. If you want to give her a chance to choose you, give her a specific deadline and don't go back on it. I know it's hard to stand up for yourself, but you'll be better for it," he said, pulling her in for a brief hug. "And we'll all be here for you afterward, okay?"

"Thanks, Jack. Really. You're the reason I'm doing this. After we talked the other day, I knew it was time. And being out tonight, being happy, well...it made me realize how little of that I'd had in a while."

"Well, there's plenty where that came from. Now go, before your courage fails you - or, God forbid, you sober up," he added, winking, before tapping the top of the limo to signal to the driver. "Good luck, Impossible Girl."

Clara laughed at the nod to her screen name that first night they'd met, and waved as the limo drove away.

Rose and John had danced through two upbeat salsa songs, laughing mutually at John's two left feet. "Honestly, mate, I thought actors were supposed to be able to dance? Triple threat, and all that?"

"John never was one for singing and dancing. He left the 'triple' parts of that phrase to his brain and his ego," said a voice from behind Rose, causing them to break apart and spin around to see who was there.

John looked gobsmacked. "River?" he asked, then broke into a huge grin. "River Song, I never thought I'd see you again! How was the expedition to the ruins of….oh, what was it this time? Brazil?"

"San Andres, El Salvador. But for you? Close enough. It was fascinating, well - no, it was bloody boring but they can't all be undiscovered tombs," she answered, then turned to look at Rose. "Do you mind if I cut in?"

Rose hesitated, but John gave her shoulder a squeeze, "Just for a bit, Rose. River and I have known each other forever, but I haven't seen her in years."

"Sure, no problem. I'll just…" but River had already pulled John away towards to bar before she'd finished her sentence. "Go find the others, I guess," she muttered, glumly. She turned and saw Martha and Mickey dancing nearby, so she went in search of Jack. After a quick tour of the restaurant, she couldn't find him so she ended up at the table by herself. She pulled out her phone and texted Jack.

"_**Mystery woman has kidnapped John. Where are you?**_"

Jack replied after a minute:

"_**Figured that would be your job. ;) Just finished seeing Clara off and giving her a pep talk. Be there in a minute.**_"

Rose poured herself another glass of Sangria, her gaze straying frequently to the bar where John and River were talking animatedly.

"So, who's the mystery woman?" Jack asked, approaching from her side.

"Dunno, they're over there. Someone named River Song, he said he'd known her his whole life."

Jack laughed, "You mean Melody?"

"John said River…?"

"Yeah, he calls her that. Her name's Melody Pond. She's an archaeologist, but she hates kids, and I guess one of the kids in a village she was working in was trying to remember her name and used word association but got it mixed up - then the entire village took to calling her that. It pissed her off, royally! Which, of course, is why he almost exclusively calls her that, now."

"So how'd they meet, then?"

"She used to babysit him."

Rose choked on her drink, "Really? I know she's a bit older than him, but I thought they'd gone to Uni together or something."

"They did, actually. But before that, she used to babysit. But, I mean, it was a whole Mrs. Robinson thing and too gross for me to think about."

"WHAT?" exclaimed Rose.

Jack laughed, "Not that bad, but they 'dated' for a while after John came of age. Didn't work out. Between you and me, I never liked her. She's a bit….predatory. And that's coming from me! Anyway, when John got his next job after the show, he had to travel to America for it and she flipped out, didn't want him to go, and basically ended their fling. She's been roaming the world ever since."

"Oh," was all Rose could come up with, trying not to be obvious about glancing over at them again, and trying not to bristle as the woman ran her hand up John's arm.

Jack sighed, having followed her gaze, "Come on, looks like they're gonna be busy for a while, and I think Martha and Mickey gave us the slip. Let's dance?"

Rose gave one last look towards the bar, then took his offered hand.


End file.
